This blog will be updated frequently based on latest updates from government
**Disclaimer: All the information in this blog are collected from various reliable online sources and summarized to assist and share the information with the affected community/ individual to help them during these unprecedented times.**
- INTEREST FREE LOANS: Introduced the Canada Emergency Business Account, which provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits through their financial institutions. Up to 25% of the loan will be forgiven if repaid by December 31, 2022. More details to follow.
- TAX FILING DEADLINE: Allow all businesses to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020. This relief would apply to tax balances due, as well as installments, under Part I of the Income Tax Act. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period. This measure will result in businesses having more money available during this period.
- GST / HST PAYMENTS: Deferred all payments of GST/HST and import duties for all businesses, including individuals who are self-employed, until June 30. This amounts to $30 billion in interest-free loans to Canadian businesses.
- BUSINESS CREDIT AVAILABILITY PROGRAM: Increase the credit available to small, medium, and large Canadian businesses. As announced on March 13, a new Business Credit Availability Program will provide more than $10 billion of additional support to businesses experiencing cash flow challenges through the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada. The Government is ready to provide more capital through these financial Crown corporations.
- ADDITIONAL SUPPORT: Provide flexibility on the Canada Account limit, to allow the Government to provide additional support to Canadian businesses, when deemed to be in the national interest, to deal with exceptional circumstances.
- FARM CREDIT CANADA: Augment credit available to farmers and the agri-food sector through Farm Credit Canada.
- INSURED MORTGAGE PURCHASE PROGRAM: Launch an Insured Mortgage Purchase Program to purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). As announced on March 16, this will provide stable funding to banks and mortgage lenders and support continued lending to Canadian businesses and consumers. CMHC stands ready to further support liquidity and the stability of the financial markets through its mortgage funding programs as necessary. The Government will enable these measures by raising CMHC’s legislative limits to guarantee securities and insure mortgages by $150 billion each.
- WAGE SUBSIDY: Offered employers the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) applied at a rate of 75% on the first $58,700 earned by employees, representing a benefit of $847 per week. The program will be in place for a 12-week period, retroactive to March 15 and ending June 6, 2020. Eligible businesses of all sizes and from all sectors of the economy, regardless of the number of workers they employ, that suffer a drop of at least 30% in gross revenues due to COVID-19 in March, April or May, when compared to the same month in 2019, would be able to access the subsidy. This will help businesses to keep paying their employees and to bring laid-off workers back on the payroll.
- EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CANADA: created a new loan guarantee through Export Development Canada (EDC), which provides operating credit and cash-flow term loans of up to $6.25 million. More details to follow.
